On the Run

Chapter 1: You're more love dumb than Hermione and Ron

Here we go again. I groan as I lumber across the room to switch the alarm off. Though I know I won't regret waking up a little earlier once I'm fully awake and look decent in time for school, I'm having second thoughts while I drag my feet walking to the bathroom to start getting ready. I don't know how the government considers school starting at 7:00am ethical, but the time to read and take a nap after school is pretty great.

"You look exhausted. What, a Criminal Minds marathon again last night?" Alex teased as I collapsed on the bus seat beside him. "No. Doctor Who. And a paper for English, Psych, and History." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Why don't you pick easier classes? You're stretching yourself too thin. You can get into a good college without keeling over from exhaustion. One day you're just gonna crack...and the good friend I am, I'll just say I told you so. After I help you finish making up the work," he winked at me. "Thanks for the moral support," I rolled my eyes. "But seriously, Scar. How are you gonna handle it?" "The same way I have been all year? You do realize we're in the last quarter, right? And AP exams are over, I've been way more relaxed lately! Besides, we only have two more weeks of regular work, and then it's just exam stuff." His eyes widened, but he tried to maintain his suave front,"Oh...yeah, I knew that but-whatever."

        Typical Alex, but at least he gave up once he knew it was useless. Unlike my hopeless crush, which he hadn't picked up on in the five years we'd been best friends. It's funny how someone can know how much your exact McDonald's order is, and what mood you're in based on which flavor ice cream you eat, but won't notice that you blush even when they do the most idiotic things. I mean seriously, who daydreams abuot how adorable someone is while singing "We Are the Champions" at the end of a flag football game?

        I didn't actually figure out that I had a thing for him until we'd known each other for a year, when he mentioned asking Nancy Pew to the eighth grade dance. I got really mad and couldn't figure out why, but once I had a dream that night of dancing with him, I realized I was jealous. It sounds daft, I know, who can't notice their own feelings? Especially since I'm supposed to be really smart, or so my friends say, but I've always lacked a lot in the common sense department. Somedays I feel like my brain is just missing the components normal people are born with, telling them the obvious stuff, and that allows extra room for school material. Hey, it's not my fault I didn't put two and two together about mashed potatoes--but that's not important, the fewer people who know about that, the better.

        After an hour of debating random, trivial subjects like the importance of doorknobs (don't even ask) the bus pulled up to the dull, grey building our student body piled into day after day. You would think the school board would try to liven up the place, but all they cared about was football--the money maker. Funny how all the paint was peeling, and half the teachers don't have projecters, sometimes even the white boards were crumbling, yet the stadium seats were professionally cleaned every six months, brand new uniforms were dry cleaned once a week, there were three lawn companies on constant duty of the field, and the concession stands had more food than our cafeteria. Even the players saw the inequity of this, and most of them aren't the brightest bunch, with the exception of Alex, LaQhain, and James. I guess that's how it works in the city, but I for one am moving to a small town the minute they hand me that diploma. The traffic, constant noise, and rude general populous are not worth any of the proximity advantage.

        Though first period is my favorite class, and Mr. Rillez always makes it the best part of everyone's day, I couldn't concentrate on the lesson, nor did I particularly care what part of the brain caused...whatever it was he was explaining. I read the textbook already, usually I only pretended to pay attention to be nice, but right now I just couldn't. I found myself thinking of Alex, who'd always been that one guy I could forever count on: playing the ticked off older brother who went after my cheating boyfriend with a baseball bat after practice the day I told him about the sleazball, bringing me king sized chocolate bars when I acted like a brat because he knew it was just PMS, canceling a movie day with the guys to stay with me all day when my Grandma died. I mean, that is a oce-in-a-lifetime kind of guy, right? The thought of him being with someone else was excruciating.